RIVERSIDE, Calif. - UC Riverside returned to Amy S. Harrison Field on Saturday afternoon for a doubleheader with UC San Diego, doubling up the Tritons 4-1 and 8-0 in six innings. 

With the wins, UCR has now won 20 games for the first time since 2019 and has won 10 Big West games for the first time since 2018, when the Highlanders went on a run to the NISC championship series. UC Riverside, winners of three in a row and five of its last seven, has now secured its second straight Big West series win.

"Our late-season push is a testament to our continued work ethic in practice and commitment to our goals, game plans and strategies going into a series," head coach Nikki Palmer said. "We knew it was going to be a really good matchup and we had to bring our best game. It was good to see our team commit to the plan and work as together as a team."

Chrys Hildebrand put up another spectacular performance in the circle in game one, striking out six of her first nine batters and finishing with 11 strikeouts and just four hits against her in the senior's seventh complete game and third in her last five appearances. 

Hildebrand and her UC San Diego counterpart held both offenses quiet through the first three innings until UCR broke up the pitcher's duel. Haylee Kela broke the deadlock with a two-run RBI double before coming home on Max Ortega's RBI single up the middle. 

The Tritons put a run on the board in the fifth, but Marissa Burk's standout performance at CSUN carried over to Saturday afternoon with an RBI single to make it a 4-1 game. Also in the mix of UC Riverside run production, Lauryn Garewal extended her career-high on base streak to 15 games with a six-pitch walk in the third.

Katie Barbarick kept the Highlanders' strong starts going in game two, striking out four of her first seven batters in what turned into a second consecutive pitcher's duel on the afternoon that UCR broke open. Three straight singles to open the fifth inning led to a two-run RBI single from Nadia Witt, followed by a six-pitch walk from Kela to make it a 3-0 ballgame. UCR busted through for five runs in the sixth to run-rule the Tritons in game two, as Jantzen Owen went 3 for 3 at the plate in game two with two runs. 

UC Riverside and UC San Diego are back at Amy S. Harrison Field on Sunday for the series finale at 1:00 p.m. on ESPN+. Tickets can be purchased at highlanderstickets.universitytickets.com.